Reba Hart looked at her husband, Brock, heartbroken due to the fact that he had come home late; again. Brock had come home late every night for the past week and Reba couldn't take it any longer. It wasn't like he was coming home just a few minutes late. He was coming home three to four hours late every night and all Reba could do was wait up for him and try not to cry. She tried to give Brock the benefit of the doubt and tell herself that since he was a dentist he just had more patients than he normally did, but when she found lipstick that she knew wasn't hers in his car Reba knew that something was up. Every time Reba would bring it up to Brock he would claim that he was out with a friend, but this was confirming that there was something more going on.
"Reba, I told you! I stayed late at the office and then I went out with a friend! Do we have to go through this again?" Brock asked Reba as he was oblivious to the hurt that was on her face. She knew that he was lying and this infuriated her. There was once a time where they never lied to each other unless it was so the other one wouldn't find out about a surprise.
Reba glared at Brock as she felt her whole world crumble to pieces. "Brock, I was cleaning out your car last night because it was getting messy and I couldn't get to sleep. I found this in the back seat." She said softly as she tossed some red lipstick to him. She was trying not to be loud since she knew that the kids were upstairs asleep. "That's not all, Brock. You've got a nice little hickey on your neck that I know I didn't give you since you go straight to bed once you get home."
Brock looked at the lipstick that was now in his hands. He knew he was caught, and once she mentioned the hickey that was on his neck he knew that there wasn't a way he could get out of this one. He trapped himself and now someone was going to get hurt. "Reba, it's not what it looks like. The lipstick was one of the girls from the office whose car broke down. She must have left it in my car on accident when I drove her home. This bruise is not a hickey. I accidently hit myself my neck when I was working out the other day." Brock said, hoping that Reba was going to believe what he was saying, but there was a part of him that knew she was too smart to believe him.
Reba rolled her eyes. She was so disappointed in Brock. Not only because he was having an affair, but because he was being dishonest about everything. She couldn't recognize the man that she had married. "I'm not an idiot Brock. I know what a hickey looks like, and I know that you've been having an affair." Reba could see the defeat in Brock's eyes, but she didn't care. She couldn't believe that the man she had been married to for twenty years was having an affair on her, and now she wanted to know who and she was going to make sure that she knew who was stealing her man away from her before the night ended. Reba glared at her husband but then she started to feel sick to her stomach. Her marriage was coming to an end and it appeared that there was nothing she could do to keep it together. The red head walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, hoping to find something to soothe her stomach.
Much to her surprise, Brock followed her into the kitchen but he wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't upset that he was caught, but he was upset about how much he had hurt the woman that he loved. This was not something he had thought about while having an affair, but now that he was aware of how much pain he had caused he felt absolutely horrible. "Reba, I know I hurt you. That wasn't my intention."
Reba turned around with a glass of water in her hand. "What were your intentions then, Brock? To destroy a twenty year marriage?" She could feel the tears building up in her eyes. Brock having a divorce, or their marriage coming to an end, was something that Reba never thought would happen. They had the perfect relationship, but now Reba felt like their relationship had been a lie, at least the last few years had been.
"Reba I love you and I always have." Brock said as he walked over to Reba and slowly started to wrap his arms around Reba's petite body. Reba felt too weak to push Brock away so she stayed limp against Brock's chest. "I promise that the love I have for you is as true and real as anything."
This gave Reba enough strength to push away from Brock. "Is this what you told her while you all were out together? Is this what you told her when you should have been home telling it to me?" Reba asked as her eyes were pink and stained with tears. She was losing her husband. Even if his love for her was true how was she supposed to know if she could trust him or not. He had betrayed her in the worst way possible, and Reba no longer felt like she was on top of the world.
"No, Reba. I never even told Barbra Jean that I loved her, because I don't. I only love you. I'm sorry! I was just trying to make myself happy and I found temporary happiness by being with Barbra Jean." Brock said as he tried to wrap his arms around Reba again, but she pushed him away.
"What do you mean you were trying to find happiness?" Reba was confused on what this meant. She knew that their relationship hadn't been great for a few years, but they were always there for each other and Reba did everything she could to try and make him happy. Now she knew that she had failed and someone else was making him happy.
Brock sighed knowing that he was digging himself into a bigger whole, but all he was trying to do was be honest to his wife. "You know as well as I do that here lately all we've been doing is arguing. We haven't had any good nights in a long time and I was just trying to find a way to make myself happy without causing a fight."
Reba's mouth dropped and she rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, because having an affair would never cause a fight! Is that why you've been missing marriage counseling? While I've been working my butt off to save our marriage you have been out with your dental hygienist?" When Brock nodded his head Reba could feel her heart break. How dare the man she loved and did everything for treat her like this.
"Reba I'm sorry. Please. I'll quit seeing Barbra Jean. After knowing what I'm going to lose I don't want to lose it fully." Brock begged as Reba looked down at the island and couldn't wrap her head around everything that was happening. She loved this man for over two decades and now she wasn't sure how she felt. Of course she still loved him, and there was a good possibility that she always would, but that didn't mean their marriage was going to work out. She knew what she was going to need if she was going to stay with Brock. Reba was going to need a good reason from Brock for her to stay with him.
"Tell me why I should, Brock, and it has to be something other than the kids because right now I think they are suffering just as much as I am." Reba said, making sure he wasn't going to use their three children to guilt her into staying. "I need one good reason on why I should stay in this marriage after you did what you did."
Brock looked at her and sighed. He knew he couldn't say because he loved her. That didn't mean anything because of the actions that he had displayed. "Reba, I love you more than anything and I realize that I put you through pain. I'll stop seeing Barbra Jean and I will start going to the marriage counseling. I don't want to be away from you. I realize that I could lose you and the kids at any moment and if I do then I don't know how I am going to live with my life. Being with Barbra Jean was the biggest mistake of my life and I want to fix this now before it becomes unfixable. Please, Reba." Brock said as he saw Reba start to calm down. He didn't give her a great reason but he knew that hearing him promise he'd start going to the marriage counseling sessions helped.
Reba looked over at Brock and sighed. She was too in love with this man to not give him the opportunity to make things right with her. After all, there was no telling what would happen in the future if Reba didn't fight for Brock. "Fine, Brock, but things have to change and they need to change now." Reba said as she laid her head against his chest.
"Everything will change because I don't ever want to lose you. I love you so much, Red." Brock said as he picked Reba up and carried her to their bedroom. Brock knew that she was exhausted. He laid on the bed with her next to him and held her tight until they both fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms for the first time in months. It finally looked like their marriage had a chance.